Loksatta condemns ‘Amma salt’ sales scheme – Demands government to exit from Business and to create a market friendly environment

Thursday, June 12th, 2014 @ 3:09PM

Loksatta Party condemns the ​​recent announcement from the government to sell subsidized salt. The party is of the opinion that the government by entering more and more businesses is deviating from its primary task of governance.

Image courtesy: Indian Express

The current AIADMK government is distorting the market by setting up subsidized canteens, theaters, selling subsidized vegetables and now salt. The government is already in the business of Cable TV distribution and transmission, which is an attempt to control the media.

These schemes don’t actually benefit the poor but are very superficial. The party views these Amma schemes as gimmicks much like freebies which are introduced keeping elections in mind. The number of poor people who are benefited from these schemes are very less and only unintended non-poor enjoys maximum benefit out of these schemes. The real problems which haunt the poor are corruption, bribery in getting basic government services, inefficient police and judiciary, lack of sanitation and toilet facilities, absence of good & affordable education and healthcare, poor public transport, water & electricity scarcity and so on. The government does only lip services on the above stated priority items and trying to cover-up its failure in governance through such glamorous schemes.

The government spends around 45,000 crores per annum for subsidies and freebies. Much of it is wasteful expenditures and can be used to improve governance. The subsidized businesses run by the government which could have been run by a private enterprise more efficiently is against the idea of ‘free market’. One of the main reason for price rise and inflation is political interference in business, red-tapism, inefficient law enforcement, obsolete laws, unlawful monopoly, nepotism and complex bureaucratic hurdles.

The government should act as an efficient regulator, exit from business and should focus on governance. The party demands that the government should facilitate a market friendly environment by efficient law enforcement through judicial and police reforms and simplifying government procedures by implementing ‘Right To Services’ act at all levels.​